Chinese villagers face worst floods in generations without warning
Residents of Pingtou, a village in Guangdong province, are struggling to recover after record rainfall caused the worst flooding in living memory — and they say they had no warning.
Knee-deep brown water still covered the main road on Friday, as villagers hauled ruined furniture and appliances outside. At least four homes collapsed earlier this week, and watermarks on nearby buildings showed levels exceeding one metre, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
“In 100 years, we’ve never had flooding like this,” said Mr. Zhong, a villager in his 50s. “This time, water even entered my two-storey house.”
From August 2–6, Guangzhou — the provincial capital — recorded 622.6 mm (24.5 inches) of rain, nearly triple its monthly average for August. At least seven people were killed in the wider area. Across Guangdong, 75,000 residents were evacuated, but Pingtou locals say no alerts were issued for their village.
Some residents accuse local authorities of offering no relief. “There was not even a bottle of mineral water provided,” Zhong said.
The floods also destroyed livelihoods. Farmer Hu Songlin estimated losses of 120,000 yuan after his fish ponds were washed out.
The Chinese government has announced 430 million yuan ($59.9 million) in new disaster relief, bringing the total since April to at least 5.8 billion yuan. Experts link the increasingly erratic weather — including these floods — to climate change, warning that some regions will become wetter while others grow drier.
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